24 hours with Occupy Detroit: Signing off from Grand Circus Park

Let’s start with some hard numbers: This is post 22 of the “24 hours” series. I was shooting for 24 in 24, but close enough.

Around 1:00 this afternoon, I counted (give or take) 70 tents in Grand Circus Park. As I prepare to head home, the number is easily over 80. With workers setting up a new food and comfort area, there will be room to fit maybe 100 tents in the park’s southwest corner encampment.

Some campers are confident that “occupation” will quickly grow to fill the park on both sides of Woodward.

Without question, Occupy Detroit as an encampment is a remarkable success. It’s been kept clean and safe and fed by a completely unorganized but efficient cadre of volunteers. I say unorganized, not and a judgement, but as a matter of fact because there is no central organization.

Give Occupy Detroit credit for that. It’s no small achievement. And give the larger Occupy movement credit for addressing the fact that our present economic trouble isn’t a cyclical recession that will just work itself out given enough time.

24 HOURS WITH OCCUPY DETROIT

MLive's Jeff Wattrick goes inside Occupy Detroit for 24 hours, sharing his observations and insights as he fights the cold
with a group fighting to be heard.

Having said all of that, my previous apprehensions about and critiques of this movement remain: Occupy Detroit’s focus is insufficiently local and insufficiently focused.

Regarding the latter complaint, a common response is: “Well, you know, the Tea Party had no specific agenda.”

Fine, but I wouldn’t want to be compared to the Tea Party. It’s a movement of, for, and by intellectually dishonest people.

America’s problems are systemic and big, but there are concrete solutions within the American traditions of free markets and liberal democracy that served this country well (if imperfectly and with periodic need for revisions) for more than two centuries. This is one of those moments for revision.

Those solutions merit a voice, and this movement could provide that voice. And please note, advocacy for solutions isn’t the same as “presenting a list of demands.”

As for that lack of local interest, bang away at Bank of America with my compliments. They have it coming.

At the same time, it would be fantastic if, next time they marched on the Guardian Building, Occupy Detroit went inside and upstairs to hassle the Wayne County Executive. If you want to talk about corporate greed subverting democracy, look no further than county contractors running a non-profit to supplement the salaries of county officials. Occupy John Rakolta’s front lawn. Seriously.

Maybe that will come.

Maybe Occupy Detroit will round into form as an effective agent of change within the system. As I said last night, these people understand how to run a functioning city in a way Detroit’s Very Best Men don’t. Detroit could use them.

I hope so because my critique of what this thing is not is as much a compliment and acknowledgement of what it could become.